BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM) plans to launch its first African mobile apps development centre in Egypt, as the company seeks to offer more locally relevant content for the continent.
Cairo's BlackBerry Lab, which is to be opened in the Egyptian capital's Smart Village, in the next few months, is to provide tools and resources necessary for developers in that country to create mobile apps and content for smartphone devices.
RIM plans to work with local developers to create applications for BlackBerry OS 7 devices, the BlackBerry PlayBook and the upcoming BlackBerry 10 software.
The Canadian-owned company's move to open a developer centre in the North African country comes as the smartphone and tablet maker faces increasing pressure in its global operations. According to a statement from RIM last week, its sales in the fourth quarter of last year fell 25%, to $4.19 billion.
RIM's share of the global smartphone market has also diminished to 8.2% in the fourth quarter of 2011, from 14% a year earlier, according to IDC research. Meanwhile, Apple's global share in that period rose from 16% to 24%.
Emerging markets, such as Africa and the Middle East, have been healthy growth areas for the handset maker. In SA, BlackBerry has a 70% share of the smartphone market, according to estimates from Vodacom. Furthermore, researchers at Informa Telecoms & Media say BlackBerry has the biggest smartphone share in Nigeria, representing 20%-30% of all smartphone devices in use in that country.
In Egypt, BlackBerry devices have the second biggest share of the smartphone market, according to RIM. “Africa, including North Africa, is a high-growth market for RIM,” says Ben Quirin, regional director for North Africa at RIM.
“We are investing in Egypt, because of the large developer base that exists there.”
The final stages of setting up a BlackBerry Lab in SA are also under way, according to Quirin. However, he did not give a date for when or where this facility in SA would be opened.
Status symbol
Analysts say RIM's renewed focus on developing locally relevant apps comes as the handset maker seeks to further capitalise on its reputation as a popular brand in emerging markets, such as Africa.
“I think in many emerging markets it still has that image of being a very desirable, high-end, business and top-end consumer device,” says Matthew Reed, Informa Telecoms & Media head of mobile research for the Middle East and Africa.
Other factors that have entrenched BlackBerry's strong market position in emerging markets include the popularity of its BlackBerry Messenger service, dubbed BBM, and the fact that many of the continent's iPhone users struggle to purchase content from the Apps Store.
“In the iPhone ecosystem, the use of a bank or credit card is required to register with iTunes. However, few non-Africa-based Web sites allow Africa-based bank cards, except for SA and some North African countries. iTunes doesn't, and without iTunes registration, the iPhone experience is limited to phone calls and e-mails,” says Thecla Mbongue, a senior research analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media, in a blog post.
The high price of iPhones in Africa is another stumbling block to Apple gaining greater smartphone market share on the continent, further limiting its ability to compete against BlackBerry.
”High-end smartphones, such as the iPhone, are sold for $700-$1 000 across sub-Saharan Africa, where, apart from in SA, both prepaid and postpaid users purchase their devices upfront. Such prices limit the number of iPhone users to a tiny percentage of African mobile users,” Mbongue adds.
Share